Junior, Nate Wanamaker, makes baseball one of his top priorities. He is the pitcher on the school team. Nate’s parents, especially his dad, inspired him to start baseball and stick with it. His biggest encouragements are his dad and Coach Hardin. “ I think that being around Coach motivates me to be the best on the team, and I have the potential to do that. My pitching coach has helped me improve both mentally and as a pitcher. As well as my dad, because he got me into the game.”
Wanamaker handles baseball very well, whether it’s stress, leadership, or pre-game jitters. “I usually try to set an example for the younger players to show how someone on the team should act, and I help them grow.” Wanamaker has a lot of pressure on him when it comes to baseball. As a pitcher, he must take the initiative and think strategically. “I kinda just do what I always do, I treat it the same way as if nobody is on base and I pitch to contact.”
He has a unique way of preparing for a game. Since he has to be on high alert and be focused, his nerves need to be calm. “Usually I play a lot of heavy, loud rock music, and I like to pray before games, and I’ll pace in the dugout.”
Baseball is a very hard, mental, and demanding sport. Motivation and strength to push through hard games are sometimes needed. “Usually, during every outing, I try to focus my mind before the game, and I don’t unfocus until I’m done pitching or done with the game.” Setbacks can happen when you’re not focused or prepared in the right ways. Wanamaker earned that you just have to keep your head down and go through the struggle, even if it messes you up. Baseball can teach many different lessons, whether it’s mental or physical. “Baseball doesn’t choose favorites; it’s different from other sports because the better team is always going to win, but you could put the worst team against the best and the worst could still win.” Although baseball can be hard on Wanamaker, he is very good at being prepared in many ways.
Brooke Wanamaker • Jan 5, 2026 at 3:01 pm
This piece captures Nate’s gameday process and procedures as a pitcher so well. When the season begins, it would be cool to do a follow-up story with statistics and more player interviews!
Elijah Shelton • Jan 5, 2026 at 9:30 am
Nate is a very inspirational character, awesome story. You should do another story when the season starts and check in with him again.